The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for adding free games as some of the prizes in an electronic gaming terminal and in particular to a method which can be used to increase the relative payback for larger-valued prizes without the need to decrease gaming terminal holds.
In general, for a given gaming terminal or gaming system, it is possible to characterize the long-term averaged payout or payback ratio (i.e., the amount awarded, in prizes, to players, averaged over a long time period, per unit wager) as a function of the size of the various prizes and the frequency with which the various prizes are awarded or won. The hold portion (i.e., the amount retained by the casino or other game operator) is, thus, one minus the payback ratio. A number of payback ratios are used in different games. By way of example, it is not uncommon to have a 90% payback ratio for many slot machines.
The success or usefulness of a gaming terminal or system, to a gaming operator, however, is related not only to the payback ratio or hold but also to how much of the time the gaming terminal or system is in use and the rate at which it is played, which can generally be understood in terms of the game""s attractiveness to players. Many factors can affect the attractiveness of a game. In addition to factors such as appearance, theme, setting, and so forth, players are often influenced by the perceived (or believed) payback which a machine provides. Players often differ widely in what types of paybacks are considered most attractive. While some players are most satisfied with games which provide a relatively large number of relatively smaller prizes, other players are concerned principally with the frequency at which large prizes are awarded. In this context, unless indicated otherwise, large prizes, as used herein, will be considered prizes which are at least five (5) times, and preferably at least ten (10) times, the amount of the wager.
Certain electronic gaming terminals or systems are configured such that, as a result of certain predefined game outcomes, one or more free plays of the game are awarded as a prize. Typical previous systems, however, have certain undesirable aspects. Players are generally accustomed to certain traditional prize of structures. For example, in a electronic or other slot machine, for a game outcome where the (best) result on any given pay line is a xe2x80x9ccherryxe2x80x9d, players generally expect the traditional payback of two times the wager and, for two cherries on any one payline, a payback of five times the wager and so forth. Many players are so accustomed to the traditional prize amounts for many traditional games that players believe themselves entitled to at least the traditional payout and consider themselves mistreated if the payout is less than the traditional amount for a given prize. However, typical previous xe2x80x9cfree spinxe2x80x9d gaming terminals have included at least one prize with a number of spins less than the spins that could be obtained by wagering the traditional payout. Additionally, some players will xe2x80x9cshopxe2x80x9d among electronic slot machine or other electronic gaming terminals, hoping to play those games which have higher or otherwise more desirable payback structures. It is believed that at least some players in this category will tend to avoid free spin games where free spins depart from traditional prizes for given outcomes (such as paying two free spins, rather than five, for a two-cherry game outcome) either because they perceive lower-quality payback or because the unfamiliar payback structure makes it difficult to compare or otherwise xe2x80x9cshopxe2x80x9d between gaming terminals.
In some previous approaches, an increase in size or frequency of a prize was funded by decreasing the hold amount. This approach, however, is generally unattractive to game operators and may be restricted by gaming regulations in certain jurisdictions. Another possible approach to funding an increase in the size or frequency of certain prizes would be to decrease the size of certain other prizes. However, such a change may make a game less attractive to players, particularly if it has the appearance of reducing one or more prizes below the level traditional for a given game output (such as reducing an award for a two-cherry outcome from five times the wager to four times the wager). Still another approach for funding an increase in the size or frequency of certain prizes is to decrease the win frequency for outcomes associated with another prize in the game. However, this approach can diminish attractiveness of a game if the players perceive the game having a relatively lower win frequency and in at least some jurisdictions it might be difficult or impossible to obtain approval for such a change or decrease in win frequencies.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to be able to modify or create a game which, compared to previous games, can have a redistributed paytable such as having a higher value or frequency for certain prizes (preferably high-value prizes), but without the need for decreasing hold or for decreasing the frequency or the apparent (i.e., player-perceived) size of other prizes in the game.
In one aspect, some or all of the cost of restructuring a prize structure or paytable (such as increasing the size or frequency of certain, preferably larger, prizes) is paid for by the benefit obtained from substituting one or more free games for an amount of monetary payout which would normally suffice as the wagers needed to play such free games. I.e., rather than funding the increased size or frequency of prizes from a change in the hold or a decrease in the apparent size or frequency of other prizes, instead, a different (non-monetary) prize (a free game) is substituted for a monetary prize. The free prize or game is, it is believed, perceived by players as having (and, in at least some senses, from the point of view of player, actually has) the same value as wagers that would be required to play the same number of games; although, from the point of view of calculating the game payback, the value of a free game (for a less than 100% payback machine) is somewhat less than the size of the wager that would otherwise be required to play such game. Even though it is recognized that the players commonly use, e.g., accumulated xe2x80x9ccreditsxe2x80x9d to continue betting on or wagering on a gaming terminal, the award of a credit has a greater value than the award of a free game round or free spin because players have an option to convert a xe2x80x9ccreditxe2x80x9d prize into a monetary prize if desired, while an additional game round or xe2x80x9cfree spinxe2x80x9d prize cannot be converted into a monetary prize at the option of the player but can only be used for playing the game. Preferably, the game according to the present invention, compared to a traditional game with a commonly expected and understood prize structure for particular game outputs, and/or compared to the previous game which was modified to arrive at the game according to the present invention, reduces at least one prize by a monetary amount (in some cases, equal to the total amount of that prize) and substitutes a number of free spins or games equal to the number of games that could be obtained by wagering the amount of the prize reduction.
According to one aspect, a gaming terminal provides at least a portion of at least one prize in the form of at least one or more free game rounds. A benefit may be calculated as the difference between the value of the prize if paid out in coins or other monetary value and the value paid out as free game rounds. In one aspect, the benefit is redistributed in the paytable, preferably so as to provide a game in which the overall, long-term averaged payback amount is unchanged by the process of converting monetary payouts to free game payouts and redistributing the benefit thereof.